half bath reveal

01/25 2012

The renovation that wouldn’t end has finally come to an end. As I was looking back over the pictures to prepare this post, I realize it’s taken a YEAR to get this 4′ x 8′ space finish. In our defense, we’ve had a pretty busy year and the half bathroom was just not a priority. We did hear some grumblings from the teenagers that frequent our home, because they had to hoof it up the steps to use the facilities, but other than that, it didn’t inconvenience anyone. Nevertheless, it’s finally finished.

Here’s how it started…

…well, THIS is actually how it started the day we moved in…

…but I really prefer to block that carpet entirely out of my memory. We put down the sticky-back black tile (after removing the carpet, of course) until we could afford something better and I did the best with the space that I could with the budget I had.

In the latter months of 2010, I spotted a call for entries to a contest by True Value…the SOS DIY Disaster Contest. I don’t ever enter contests, but for some reason I felt like this was one I could win. All I needed to do was submit a video of my space. I recruited my husband to be my camera crew and shot an impromptu video in my very best painting clothes.

My youngest son wandered into our shoot and flushed the toilet. That’s what the giggling was all about.

My video was picked to be in the top ten and I put a call out for your votes to help me win. Boy, did you come through! People were voting from all computers they owned every single day. My father-in-law even hopped out of bed late one night to get his vote in for the day. Your votes won me a $2500 gift card from True Value to spend on my 1940’s bathroom. Thank you, thank you, kisses and hugs!

We shopped and ordered things from True Value as soon as we had the gift card in hand. Then a toilet, sink, tank, beadboard and all of the rest sat in my living room.

It would have cost $1800 if I ordered the mosaic tile I wanted through True Value, so I ordered the exact same thing off of Amazon for $300. When that arrived, I added the boxes of tile to the other boxes already in the living room. When we finally opened them up to have the tile installed, we realized this…

I got two different tones of tile. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! If you heard a loud scream sometime in April, that was me.

We were able to sort it out and exchange the tiles that didn’t match. The tiles were installed sometime in May and I may or may not have snuggled up to them when the grout was dry.

I then got the painting done, we had a (seat-less) toilet installed…

…and I put a sketch together to show my husband what I wanted the back wall to look like.

In November, my mom and I installed the bead board, trim, new light and hung the (free) antique mirror. We finally finished it all up a couple of weeks ago and here it is… (You’ll have to forgive the pictures. There is zero natural light in there.)

There are still a few little things I want to do, like make a sink skirt and finish the painted stool, but I’m calling the renovation “done.”

I love the bath rm especially the tile, I went to Amazon to check it out but got lost, to many ….. do you know exactly what tile you bought ? white or Carrara honed or polished, 1″ ? I am in the middle of a master bath redo and ready for the floors and I love the warm and cool tone that your has. I put creama marfil marble counter top in, but i don’t want matchey matchey and would love some gray cool tone.

Lovely makeover! I’m curious how you covered the tile w/ the bead board. Did you just affix the board to the tile w/ an adhesive & then add the trim? I’m helping my friend redo her 50’s bathroom w/ green tile on the wall & wanted to use bead board to cover it. Any details will help! Thanks! kt

I love the bath makeover. It reminds me so much of our hall bath. We don’t use it because it just feels so cold with the tile 3/4 way up. The bead board is an excellent way to soften the room to add warmth and a French Country look. Thanks for the idea! Oh, and how did you adhere the bead board to the tile??

Hi! So, I have had your remodel picture posted on my Pinterest page for a while now in anticipation of doing my boy’s bathroom floor in the marble hex tile. Well now that the time has come I went to the tile store to pick them out and was surprised at how small they look. I was looking at 1 inch hexes. I am curious to know if that is the size of yours or if they were 2×2’s, because I LOVE how it turned out. I would really appreciate it! Thank you!

OMG- That tile is my new favorite look in floor tiles.. Im thinking that my remodel will have to have the something along that line. Thanks for all the inspiration- Oh love the rest of the bathroom too…it turned out great..

I too am interested in how you applied the beadboard – was it directly over the pre-existing tile? Did you remove the quarter round and baseboard molding before the beadboard went on the walls, then put back on the molding?

I love what you did in your powder room especially the bead-board. Did you apply it directly over the existing wall tile or did you have demo-out the tile first? I ‘ve been wanting to do the same to my bathroom because the tile demo is labor intense & very costly to do. Any information would be helpful! Love your blog – by the way! I’m a faithful follower!
Many Thanks,
Dawn

Throw out the notion that good design is expensive, must be carried out by a professional and can only be bought in a fancy store. I live in a real home on a real budget and have never taken a design class in my life. A great look is affordable and attainable to anyone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and dive in. So, get ready to go junking, tune up the sewing machine, and buy a good paint brush. Your home's potential is waiting to be realized and you're the one who's going to discover it.